MFA Spokesman Andrei Nesterenko’s Response to Media Question on the Recent Remarks of Romanian President Traian Basescu

Question: How could you comment on Romanian President Traian Basescu's statement made on August 19 after meeting Moldovan Prime Minister Vlad Filat in Iasi about "the occupation of Moldova, threatening its territorial integrity"?

Answer: If the stationing of the Russian Task Force on a peacekeeping mission in Transnistria was meant, it is there under the Agreement on Principles of Peaceful Settlement of the Armed Conflict in the Transnistrian Region of the Republic of Moldova, dated July 21, 1992. The peacekeepers' mission is to maintain stability in the region, needed for resolving the problem. Advancing talks in the "5 plus 2" format, established for working out by political means a possible compromise regarding Transnistria's future status and its guarantees, is the key to the solution.

The "Russian occupation" theme may be fanned any number of times for propagandistic purposes, even claiming to be a defender of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Moldova. Also, this could serve to vent irritation at the discomfiture caused by the Romanian spy who botched his mission to collect secret information in Moscow a few days ago.

Anyway, the question about the purpose of such unfriendly insinuations should be addressed to the one who indulges in them.

August 20, 2010